1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the art of mounting a sight upon a firearm, for example, a telescopic or rifle sight, and in particular, it relates to the art of providing for the mounting of a scope or sight upon a firearm which is provided with a rib like member such as a raised ventilated rib for a shotgun a solid frame part for a pistol, or a metal barrel part of a muzzleloader, in which a mounting device has a body and some connecting members, columns or stanchions that maintain the body with respect to the top of the firearm.
The invention more particularly relates to providing firearms of the well known types indicated above, with a telescope or other sight means, also of a well known type, the scope or sight having mounting structure including a lower gripping portion for allowing the mounting structure to be connected to the firearm, and in which the scope mounting structure and mounting device have a cooperative construction for interconnecting these two members in a supportive relationship.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Although it is true, as indicated above, that there are well known in the prior art various firearms (shotguns, pistols or muzzleloaders) of the kind indicated above, containing as to the two former a rib or like member and as to the latter the metal upper part of the barrel, a rib or like member, and although it is likewise true that there are well known in the prior art various sight means such as telescopic sights and slug sights, which are provided with downwardly extending gripper members having either interior concave V-shaped grooves or dove tail slots which extend longitudinally or transversely, respectively, of the barrel of the firearm, the prior art has not provided, prior to the present invention, satisfactory means enabling the latter to be mounted upon the former. The known ribs or like members do not necessarily, or even at all usually, have in their upper portions an exterior geometry to permit a satisfactory direct attachment, so that it has accordingly been necessary, in accordance with the prior art, to provide some sort of scope-mounting means between a rib or like member and a sight intended to be mounted thereon.
Of the known prior mounting means, all have exhibited certain drawbacks. Some are useful only with a particular one or two models of ribbed shotguns or pistols, or only with a certain one or two models of known sights. Some of them require for their use actual machining operations upon the barrel of the firearm, or the portion of it which receives the barrel, and it is desirable to avoid such machining operations, not only because of the inconvenience thereof, but also because of what they may do to the performance characteristics of the firearm. Some of the known mounting means are not sufficiently sturdy and secure to keep a sight, such as a telescopic sight, properly mounted, especially after the firearm is discharged, and in the case where a sturdier structure was attempted, the gripping action between the rib or frame and the mounting means tended to deflect the scope out of its desired mounting position. Moreover, some guns require that the scope be mounted on the receiver of the gun, for example, shot guns, which is then subject to the inherent relative movement between the receiver and barrel during firing.
Even more commonly, in the art of providing mounts for sights for firearms, there is provided a structure which is relatively complicated, being composed of several parts which must be separately manufactured and assembled, which lends to greater expense in manufacture and greater inconvenience in the process of assembly.
Examples, in general, of previous efforts in the art of providing mountings for sights for firearms may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,837,290; 3,040,433; 3,835,565; 3992,782; 4,026,055; 4,383,371; 4,429,468; 4,531,321; and 4,567,683. The above-mentioned patents, while not specifically addressing the problem of dealing with various kinds of firearms having a ventilated rib or rib like member illustrate nevertheless the various other above-mentioned disadvantages, i.e., the need to drill into the barrel, complicated structure, limited applicability and the inability to maintain the scope in the proper position due to the gripping force being exerted between the firearm and mounting means.